difference between superstition and science in comets
Answers
Answered by
3
No. Comets do not bring disasters and bad luck. When you see a meteor you may make a wish, but it does not have a bigger chance of coming true.
Superstition always comes from not knowing, combined with awe. The celestial sky, seen in the already mysterious and frightening dark night, was very impressive, and from very early associated with supernatural powers like gods. The gradual annual change was studied to get a grasp on time and the predictability of the recurring patterns gave people the idea they somehow had a grip of understanding. The erratic but also in a more complex way predictable movement of the planets did a bit of the same; they were associated with godly patterns and priests borrowed part of their standing from interpreting these planetary patterns.
But than two completely unpredictable phenomena, meteors (shooting stars) were rather common and of a swift passing nature. And people of course tried to put some meaning in it — they always do, so associations with forefathers or angels or prosperity were phantasized.
The other one, a bright comet, was a rare phenomenon, it had a frightening appearance, and it could last for weeks, disturbing the familiar harmony of the celestial sky. It got the meaning of anouncing misfortune and disaster. And somewhere around near the period of appearance there was always something going wrong, thete always is if you want to find it, confirming the superstition.
Superstition always comes from not knowing, combined with awe. The celestial sky, seen in the already mysterious and frightening dark night, was very impressive, and from very early associated with supernatural powers like gods. The gradual annual change was studied to get a grasp on time and the predictability of the recurring patterns gave people the idea they somehow had a grip of understanding. The erratic but also in a more complex way predictable movement of the planets did a bit of the same; they were associated with godly patterns and priests borrowed part of their standing from interpreting these planetary patterns.
But than two completely unpredictable phenomena, meteors (shooting stars) were rather common and of a swift passing nature. And people of course tried to put some meaning in it — they always do, so associations with forefathers or angels or prosperity were phantasized.
The other one, a bright comet, was a rare phenomenon, it had a frightening appearance, and it could last for weeks, disturbing the familiar harmony of the celestial sky. It got the meaning of anouncing misfortune and disaster. And somewhere around near the period of appearance there was always something going wrong, thete always is if you want to find it, confirming the superstition.
Similar questions